


Pandemonium and Pies

by TheManyFacesofJester



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: Bakery AU, M/M, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-03
Updated: 2016-03-03
Packaged: 2018-05-24 11:49:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6152749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheManyFacesofJester/pseuds/TheManyFacesofJester
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Ben Tallmadge tries to politely welcome his new neighbor but accidentally keeps making pies and leaving them anonymously on Caleb's doorstep because he's to shy to say anything.</p><p>Just your average shenanigans.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pandemonium and Pies

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know, guys. I was reading 'Check Please' and one of the characters makes a bunch of pies and I got inspired.

“I’ve made 16 pies in the last 16 days. Please help me,” Ben shouted into the phone the minute Nathan picked up.

“You- Wait, what? I’m confused.”

“I keep making pies.”

“You work in a bakery, Ben. I would expect you to bake pies.” Nathan sounded like he’d just woken up and Ben wasn’t shocked. It was 2 in the morning and Ben was finishing making a Banana Cream Pie at this hour for no other reason than the fact that he would have no time in the morning.

“Not for work. I made them for the guy who lives next door,” Ben said, holding his phone with one hand while he put the pie in the oven with the other.

“The new guy? Mister – what’s his name – Caleb Brewster, right? The guy you kept stuttering in front of when he came over to introduce himself?”

“Yes,” Ben began. “I was going to make one to give as a ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ sort of deal and bring it to his door to say hello. But I got nervous because I thought he might think that me baking a pie is weird and cliché and I really want him to like me, but I’d already made the pie so I just dumped it on his doorstep and ran.”

“OK. That explains one pie, Ben. Why did you make 15 more?” Nathan asked, his voice sounding more and more clear with every word as he became more invested in the story than he was with going back to bed.

“I decided to make another pie to bring over in person so I could actually welcome him and apologize for the other pie-”

“And you panicked again?”

“Yes. But he really seems to like the pies! He always leaves the pie tins out for me to collect but I went over three days ago and he left a note in the pie tin and put it outside his door for me!” Ben set the timer on the oven as he spoke then jumped up to sit on the counter, eating the remaining whipped cream he had used for the pie with a spoon. “He wrote this amazing thank you to his Mystery Pie Admirer and invited whoever it was to come over some time so they can share the pie together. He left a note the day after and yesterday as well!”

“So why are you not there right now eating pie off each other’s forks?”

“Nathan, what if he thinks I’m a girl? What if he’s just joking? What if it’s actually a set-up to tell me to back off?”

“OK, I think the real question here is why does he get unlimited free pie? You always charge me but he gets a pie a day for no charge?”

“Can you focus on my problem instead of your own?”

“All I’m saying is that it’s not fair! I’m your best friend, but because he’s attractive he gets free baked goods from you?”

“Nathan!”

“If I grow a beard will I get pie on my doorstep also?” Ben sighed dramatically into the phone and hung up. Nathan was not going to be any use with this. Ben finished the last of the whipped cream before popping off the counter to clean up the kitchen. He cleaned any spilt flour, washed all his dishes and rearranged his assortment of fruits which he kept in stock always in the event that he needed to bake for an occasion. At last the oven dinged and Ben could get a few hours of sleep before work in the morning. Well, before he dropped the pie off and then went to work.

The next morning Ben put the pie in a neat box, as usual, and placed it on Caleb’s doorstep. Whenever Caleb stepped out in the morning he would find it there, as usual. Then he collected the other pie tin that was left by the door and headed out. There was another note left in the tin that read ‘OK, so you’re shy, I get it. But you have got to tell me who you are so I can at least repay you for all of this! How about I make it up to you with dinner? You pick the restaurant. Lemme know!’

Ben could have died. He hated to be old-fashioned, but guys didn’t really bake pies for other guys so Caleb totally thought Ben was a girl and he absolutely just asked said girl out on a date. He should have just given Caleb the pie in person the first time and avoided all of this awkwardness. It was not as though Caleb and he were strangers though. He and his neighbor saw each other every day and made quite lovely conversation. It was the highlight of Ben’s day to see Caleb and chat with him. The week after Caleb had moved in he’d held a barbecue in his backyard and invited the whole street. Ben didn’t like to make assumptions, but Caleb had spent most of the afternoon and evening speaking with Ben and took strides to make sure he was comfortable which was simply delightful.

After speeding to work Ben got to the bakery 30 minutes early and decided to just open up ahead of schedule. Culper Pies and Pastries was a small corner shop in a part of town no one should have been able to find and yet Ben was always inundated with customers. That wouldn’t have been a problem except Ben was the owner and sole worker of said shop so he never stopped working. It wasn’t like the place was packed, but for a small business he got more orders than he expected.

Over the next 6 hours 3 people came in to place orders and 7 people showed up to pick up and pay for their orders. Ben was still obsessing over the letter Caleb had written, which was stuffed in his jeans, when a familiar face walked through the door.

Ben felt a sudden urge to fling himself beneath his desk as Caleb walked in, but as Ben was the only baker here the idea of hiding was not really going to work out.

“I know you,” Caleb said when he caught a glimpse of Ben. Ben froze while Caleb moved closer. “You live next door.”

“Um, well – Yes, I do.” The gears in Caleb’s head were obviously turning and a grin was dawning on his face.

“It’s you, isn’t it? You’re the one who keeps making me pies!”

“No – erm – well, yes, yes I am.” Ben’s face was flushing as he waited for Caleb to get embarrassed about asking out his Mystery Pie Admirer who had turned out to be his male neighbor. “I was just… I was trying to be friendly but I sort of got scared and then carried away but you didn’t seem to mind so I kept going.” Ben said in one breath. Caleb was laughing, which Ben thought was a fairly good sign that this was not going to go as badly as he was anticipating.

“Scared? Of what?”

“I thought you would think it was silly for me to bring a pie, and then I tried to make up for it, and then I tried again and before I knew it I had made 16 pies.”

“17. I got your Banana Cream this morning.”

“Did you like it?”

“I loved it, like always.” Ben was burning up. Caleb had to have noticed, which might explain why he was leaning seductively across the counter. “Was there any _other_ reason why you kept bringing me those goodies? Any ulterior motives?” Caleb was looking Ben dead in the eyes and he felt like a complete fool for standing there and doing nothing but chewing his lip.

“Wait!” Ben said suddenly, likely to change the subject. “How did you know to look for me here?” Caleb let out another laugh and rubbed his face with his hand.

“This is going to sound absolutely ridiculous, but I am here to pick up a pie I was going to leave out for you.” Ben had to hold the side of the counter he was laughing so hard. Somehow Ben managed to check his order list and sure enough a Mr. Brewster had submitted an online order for a Cherry Cobbler.

“You made me make my own pie!” Ben shouted, basking in this completely ludicrous situation. “My name is on the website!”

“My name is on the order!” Caleb shouted playfully back.

"I get a lot of customers, Caleb!"

“We’re both delinquents, how’s that!” Caleb decided with smile. In the mess of their laughter Ben had also ended up leaning on the counter and before he had any time to realize what was happening Caleb had reached across the counter and pulled Ben in for an absolutely magnificent kiss.

That had not been what Ben was expecting. Not that Ben had ever dated anyone, but he thought people usually waited until they go to know each other before they went for the kiss. Apparently Caleb was finished with waiting and was going right for it, which was just fine with Ben as he leaned further across the counter for a better angle.

He wanted to say something extraordinarily romantic when broke apart but instead he just said:

“I thought you thought I was a girl.”

“I didn’t think anything, but I wouldn’t care either way,” Caleb said. “I did have a hunch it was you though. Well not a hunch really, more a little hope."

“You… hoped?” Ben asked, standing on his toes a little to let out his excitement.

“I didn’t spend my whole barbecue flirting with you for nothing! And I don’t think I could have been any more obvious by going out of my way to talk with you every day.”

“You went out of your way?” Ben said sarcastically. “ _I_ waited until I saw you heading out to work to go get my mail.”

“I planned going to work every day with the time I thought you went to get the mail!” Ben threw a jot of flour at Caleb as they lost it with laughter at their own stupidity.

“In any case, I did make that Cherry Cobbler you ordered, if you’d like to pick it up,” Ben told him between breaths as Caleb pulled out his credit card to ring up the order. Ben went to get the package but Caleb stopped him.

“You don’t want it?” Ben asked.

“Why don’t you bring it my place tonight and we’ll share. 7 o’clock sound good?” Caleb didn’t wait for an answer as his jumped his eyebrows and headed out the door. He could have said 4 in the morning and Ben would have showed up, and Caleb knew it.


End file.
